Indigenous Rights and the Traditional Knowledge in Marine Conservation

Marine ecosystems are under severe threat from overfishing, pollution, habitat loss and climate change, while many state‑centred, science‑driven conservation models have marginalized Indigenous peoples despite their long‑standing stewardship of seas and coasts. The literature shows that Indigenous rights in marine areas are unevenly recognized, with a persistent gap between terrestrial and marine rights and frequent environmental injustices around marine protected areas (MPAs), including exclusion from decision‑making and loss of access. At the same time, Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) underpins effective practices such as fishing taboos, sasi in Indonesia, kapu in Hawai‘i and culturally embedded subsistence calendars, which function as sophisticated conservation and management systems. These customary institutions support biodiversity, sustain livelihoods and embody a “community of beings” ethic that contrasts with Western notions of domination over nature. This study, using a doctrinal method and secondary sources, argues that integrating Indigenous rights and TEK into marine governance is essential for ecologically sustainable and socially just conservation. It highlights the need to move beyond viewing TEK as supplementary data, towards recognizing Indigenous peoples as rights‑holders and co‑governors of marine territories.